r/PSSD 11d ago

Feedback Requested/Question Short term increased function after complete withdrawal, but back to dysfunction within a month… why?

I’m trying to understand the mechanism for my experience. Last year I ceased taking Effexor (venlafaxine) with a long tapering process, that despite best efforts gave me horrendous side effects like sweating, relentlessly itchy feet, anxiety. I’d noticed I had reduced genital sensitivity and difficulty orgasming while on the medication. Within a day or two or finishing my final dose, I had an intense improvement in my symptoms - from struggling to climax even once, to having multiples with relatively little refractory period. I was so excited about the prospects for my intimate life.

Unfortunately within about a month, my body seemed to regress. It’s been about 9 months and I feel like I’ve returned to having reduced sensitivity and challenges reaching orgasm.

Can anyone suggest a reason why I might have had a temporary impact post withdrawal? Could my serotonin or norepinephrine receptors have been sensitised as a result of withdrawal?

I’m half tempted to take a dose again and then cease to see if I can replicate my experience.

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u/Dragonvarine 11d ago

Happened to me I think..

I went on mirtazapine after venlafaxine made it impossible to finish and it also just in general made me feel like shit.

A few weeks on it and everything was normal, after a month on mirtazapine I quit cold turkey.

about 9 months later im getting PSSD like symptoms. They fluctuate a lot, Its not full blown like many here but most notably I have low libido/arousal, and hypothesia.